I’m Simply the Best

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In an online logic test given to volunteers, the lowest scorers vastly overestimated their ability: Respondents who had answered zero of 10 questions correctly believed they had gotten 7 right, on average. According to Thomas Schlösser, of the University of Cologne, and David Dunning, of Cornell, people who lack the skills to perform well also tend to lack the ability to judge performance, their own included. But this isn’t set in stone: Teaching poor achievers logical reasoning helps them recognize their own errors and assess their skills.

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